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Go Green to Ward Off Ulcers

Another reason to eat your greens; they could keep your stomach in tip-top shape.

Rats given nitrate supplements, a common compound in many vegetables, reaped a 20 percent increase in stomach's protective lining, found researchers in the Department of Medical Cell Biology at Uppsala University in Sweden.

"Nitrates in vegetables are converted into nitric oxide in your stomach, stimulating mucous to regenerate to help protect against irritants and decrease your risk of ulcers," explains lead study author Joel Petersson.

Try tossing up a good-for-your-stomach salad: Leafy greens and root vegetables such as beets, radishes, and rhubarb are all packed with nitrates.